Clean the grill with an onion

No one likes cleaning up after a barbecue. It’s like your normal washing-up, but so much worse. While your grill is still hot (be careful!), take half an onion, stick a fork in it and use the cut side to scrub off the mess.

The idea is that the oils from the onion will blast through most of, if not all, the grit – without wearing out your sponge (or arms).

It’s all about the two-zone grill

There’s a big difference between nicely charred and burned to a crisp. By keeping one side of the grill hotter than the other, a two-zone grill if you will, you can sear the meat on one side and then move it over to the cooler side to finish off the cooking. Goodbye burned bits.

Stick it to them

Wooden skewers are so overrated. Trying threading pieces of meat (hello there lamb) or red peppers and courgettes on rosemary sticks. When the juices start flowing, they’ll infuse said meat and veggies with the flavour of the herb.

And again …

Yes, we’re talking skewers again but it’s an important point. If you want to stick with tradition (sorry), use two skewers instead of one to stop those pesky pieces of meat rotating as your turn them over.

Plus, soaking them in water for about half an hour before using them will stop them from burning.

Do you have any more genius hacks for the barbecue? Tell us in the comments box below or tweet us @Homemade …